Everyone loves flowering trees and shrubs, but most plants bloom in just a few days or a week. When planning a garden, it is difficult to pick up green spaces so that something always blossoms. Most of these trees need additional care in order to actively develop and bear fruit abundantly. That is why gardeners are increasingly turning to plants with colorful foliage, and breeders are creating new hybrids to help them. Shrubs with colored leaves are able to decorate the garden for several months.
Barberry - unpretentious shrub
Barberry is an interesting and useful group of shrubs that are often grown in gardens because of the attractive color of the leaves. Flowers and fruits, as well as endurance, versatility and usefulness, have added to their popularity. Barberries can be grown in very different conditions, even in pots and containers, so it is not necessary to have a garden to enjoy it on the terrace, patio or on the balcony. Oriental lovers use barberry to create bonsai trees.
Types of Barberry
Shrubs belong to the barberry family, in which there are about 450 different species. These plants grow in many countries around the world, with the exception of Australia. Most species live in South America, Africa and Asia, but only a few are grown in gardens. Barberry is a group of plants, most of which share common characteristics. They are all shrubs, not trees, and are quite small in size: from about 1 to 4.5 m in height. In areas with a cold climate, barberries lose their leaves in winter, but in warm countries there are many evergreens. The bush has long branches, and the leaves are collected in bunches. The shoots are covered with spikes.
Barberry ordinary
There is a wild European species of barberry - common barberry. It is widespread in nature, but not grown in gardens and even banned in countries such as Canada. This species can infect wheat crops with fungal diseases that can destroy crops and deprive farmers of their livelihoods. For this reason, most garden forms are derived from Japanese barberries.
Japanese barberry
Wild Japanese barberry has green leaves, and at first it was grown because of the flowers and berries that were used for conservation. The fruits of the bush gave the dishes acidity, which previously was achieved only with the help of lemon zest. In 1913, a species with purple leaves was discovered in French Orleans, in the Renault nursery.
Wild barberry is especially susceptible to diseases such as root rot, verticillus wilting, rust, mosaic virus. Verticillin wilt can be caused by the presence of Verticillium fungi in the soil. This mushroom is always in the ground, and often the carrier of the infection does not show any signs of infection. Rust is a fungal disease, it is expressed in the spotting or yellowing of the leaves and causes premature fall, twisting and wilting of the green parts of the plants. Fungicides are used to combat the disease. Root rot is one of the main causes of crop loss: it can lead to the death of a plant, slow down or stop its growth.
The danger of the spread of wild barberry
In recent years, there has been concern over the spread of wild barberry in some areas. Seeds are carried by birds, because plants can often be found in abandoned fields growing along roads and ditches in natural forests. But hybrid varieties practically do not breed in this way, because they can only be purchased in nurseries. In this sense, barberries are safe for the environment, there is no need to be afraid to grow them on their sites.
Thunberg Barberry: a bright shrub for any garden
There are several attractive and hardy species that do not require special care. Among these plants is decorative barberry. One of the most popular species is Thunberg barberry, resistant to most diseases and able to grow even on rocky soils. This bush comes from Asia, where it grows in mountainous areas. The peculiarity of the plant is high decorativeness, a huge number of different varieties and an unusual shape of the crown.
Barberis Thunberg was named after the famous Swedish physician, botanist and researcher Karl Peter Thunberg. He discovered this bush while traveling in Japan. The plant can be found throughout Japan and in China. In the wild, the leaves of the shrub are dark green in color. Breeders bred varieties of garden varieties of barberry from yellow to purple.
Barberry in landscape design
It was previously believed that only flowers can add color to the design of the garden, but not more than a couple of weeks, and for the rest of the year they will be an uninteresting green bush. Thanks to the painstaking work of breeders, the modern garden designer has become available to many plants with interesting foliage: blue spruce, red Japanese maples and various shades of barberry. Using these plants, you can paint your plot in different colors for the entire season.
By mixing red, orange or yellow barberry with shrubs of green, lime, silver or gold color, you can get unusual combinations of shades. Rounded leaves and branches of the bush will contrast with summer grasses and trees with thin needles. For example, purple varieties interestingly set off the snow-white caps of a tree hydrangea.
The compact views of this thorny shrub are great for creating hedges. He is able to endure the scorching heat, too cardinal pruning and protect himself from small rodents, thanks to sharp spikes on the stems. Some types of barberry have a columnar crown and can become a kind of bright screen, against which other plants will look more spectacular.
Hybrids of Japanese barberry vary greatly in color of foliage, because they are well suited for landscape compositions. For example, the Pink Glow variety has a deep pink-red hue, Sunstein is covered with golden leaves with orange spots for most of the season, and Helmond Pillar is maroon, almost brown.
Features of Barberry Red Rocket
Barberry Red Rocket is one of the most prominent representatives of the species, due to the unusual orange-red color of the foliage. This is a shrub reaching 1.5-2 meters in height and only 50 cm across, which is why such a plant is ideal for a small garden plot or for group planting.
Decorative barberry of this variety has several advantages over other shrubs:
- undemanding to growing conditions;
- frost resistant;
- drought tolerant;
- It looks beautiful in winter, especially next to conifers;
- the leaves retain a festive appearance for many months, and not only in the autumn period.
In spring and summer, the leaves of the barberry of Thunberg Red Rocket are painted in purple, and in autumn the crown is transformed and painted in the most incredible shades of bright ruby red. Before falling to winter, the foliage starts to fade, fading to a light green hue.
The bush blooms with small yellow bells, then red berries ripen in their place , which can be picked and harvested for the winter. This is a winter-hardy plant, it can withstand temperatures down to -30 degrees, therefore it can grow in almost any climatic zone, except for the hottest places. Thunberg's Barberry Red Rocket is a very ornamental shrub. Reviews of gardeners about him are very positive - he transforms the garden with his bright foliage.
Planting and caring for red rocket barberry
The best place to plant this barberry is well-lit by the sun. It grows in partial shade, but the color of the leaves will no longer be so saturated. The shrub is undemanding to the composition of the soil, but does not tolerate excessive waterlogging of the root system, therefore, for it, you should choose areas where groundwater does not come too close to the surface. Abundantly water it only in the first two years after planting, and then moisten only in the driest periods. Judging by the reviews of Barberis Tunberg Red Rocket, he tolerates hot days and does not suffer even with prolonged drought.
The plant is resistant to most pests and diseases. Barberry Red Rocket is covered with sharp spikes, it is not eaten by animals. Thanks to this, it is useful to plant shrubs along fences and under windows to protect property from uninvited guests. This interesting plant looks good in "rock gardens", contrasting with gray boulders. Barberry Red rocket is one of the easiest species to care for among ornamental shrubs.
Decorative properties
Even in winter, the reddish twigs of Red Rocket barberry refresh the landscape with their soft color, especially against the background of freshly fallen snow. It contrasts with plants with yellow foliage and flowers. Barberry Red Rocket can be used on any garden plot to tint other shrubs. It lends itself well to pruning, therefore it is suitable for creating a green fence. It is best to shorten the branches in the spring, when young foliage has not yet appeared, and the frost is already behind. Pruning stimulates the appearance of new shoots and makes the bush more branched.
Barberry grows quickly in height, but not in width, so it fits well in small gardens, where there is little space for large plants. He has erect stems with clusters of small, smooth leaves along them. Young shoots have a reddish tint, and as they grow older they begin to become covered with brownish bark. After ripening, the berries acquire a reddish hue and add attractiveness to the bush when the foliage falls.
The price of barberry Red Rocket depends on the size of the plant. Young seedlings are inexpensive (from 300 to 500 rubles), for large copies will have to pay more.